


A tale of two doctors

by LouiseLouise



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: AU_gust_2020, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hospital, August Writing Challenge, ER Doctor Eddie, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pediatric Surgeon Buck, Pre-Relationship, The author's knowledge about hospitals is limited to watching E.R and Grey's Anatomy, and a failed first year of psychomotor therapy school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:48:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25829194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouiseLouise/pseuds/LouiseLouise
Summary: Dr Buck Buckley and Dr Eddie Diaz are, to everyone in the hospital, the ultimate archenemies, never seeming to agree on any of the cases they’ve collaborated on. So when Christopher Diaz needs treatment and Buck happens to be his doctor, Buck is convinced that Eddie will fight for him to be replaced. He prepares a big speech to convince the father that he’s the best option for his son.But what if all this was just a misunderstanding?
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 310
Collections: AUgust 2020





	A tale of two doctors

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [AUgust writing Challenge](https://augustwritingchallenge.tumblr.com/post/621653119656493056/the-list-of-prompts-was-completed-one-prompt-per). Day 6 is: Hospital AU. Thank you [R_E_R6](https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_E_R6/pseuds/R_E_R6) for the awesome prompt!
> 
> Thank you [marciaelena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marciaelena) for the beta and the title! All remaining mistakes are mine, English is not my first language.

The scrubs are his armor. Protecting him against his own doubts, against his bad reputation. If he looks like a doctor then he can feel like a doctor, like someone who belongs in this hospital. Who deserves his position. Not a fraud.

Buck knows he plays a part in building most of said reputation. The list of his hookups that’s still pinned on the board, a gift from an anonymous colleague in order to shame him, is long and quite accurate. It’s even missing a few names. He’s never hidden that part of him who wants to connect with people, be it as friends or as one-night stands. He just wishes that his frivolous image didn't overshadow his medical expertise. He wishes people wouldn’t use it as evidence that he’d rather put in the effort to get a phone number than into taking care of his patients. He wishes it wouldn’t erase all his hard work and all his successes in the OR.

He’d never let it show, but it breaks his heart to know that people just won’t look past his good looks and seduction skills to see his talents as a doctor and remember that he saves kids’ lives on a regular basis.

So he puts on his overcoat like he would chainmail, wears his stethoscope like a shield and leaves the break room feeling like a knight going into battle, head held high and looking confident.

If half of his confidence is pretense, no one needs to know.

*

“Is that Doctor Diaz’s son?” Buck asks.

Chim nods. “It is. Christopher, 9 years old. Has been in and out of the hospital since birth. Best collection of rare Legos I’ve ever seen,” he jokes. 

The team assigned to the case is meeting to look at MRI images and read the kid’s file. Page after page, scan after scan, Buck starts getting a better idea of what’s expected of him. It’s nothing he hasn’t done before, but still a risky surgery.

Yet Buck is more concerned about how the father is going to react when he learns that Buck is the surgeon in charge of his son's health. It’s not that Eddie Diaz hates him per se, it’s that… he’s always arguing with Buck. Not a case passes without him questioning every decision Buck makes. Every surgery feels like a battlefield. And Buck knows damn well what Doctor Eddie Diaz, head of General Surgery, war hero, wounded in combat, young widower and single father of one, thinks about Evan Buckley’s habits of sleeping with every smiling face he comes across. At least that's how Chief Nash described Buck once, setting the tone for how everyone would see him from then on.

So Buck's ready to fight to keep the case. He's not about to allow any friction between him and Dr Diaz to jeopardize the kid's chances of recovery. He's the best choice for Christopher Diaz and he knows it.

He prepares himself for a big confrontation. He rehearses a speech, devises different answers to any questions he can anticipate, making sure he can refute every argument that Eddie Diaz can throw at him. Against him.

When he enters the room, it’s with genuine confidence this time.

*

“I know how everyone sees me, okay?” Buck says. He’s been explaining in great detail his plan for Christopher’s surgery and Eddie’s been awfully quiet so far, which can only mean that all the rebuttal is going to slap him in the face in one go once he’s done. “The reckless doctor who once did a surgery in a crashed helicopter while the blades were still spinning. The foolish Casanova who’d rather flirt with a patient than treat them. But only half of it is true and I can promise you that I’m the best at what I do. So trust me when I say I’m exactly who your son needs right now.”

“Fine,” Diaz says, sighing, arms crossed over his chest. Giving in easily.

Too easily. Buck almost feels robbed; he didn’t have to fight as hard as he imagined, and all the arguments he hasn’t used yet are now left hanging in his mind, useless.

“Fine,” he says in turn, unsettled.

It takes him close to an hour to move on from his frustration and focus back on the case, but when he does he’s ready to give Christopher Diaz his best, like he promised his dad.

*

“You know that he requested you, right?” Hen asks. The surgery was a success and the team is changing back into civilian clothes, happy to end their shift on such a high note. “Like specifically, by name _and_ first name to be sure? He bugged Bobby for days and tried to bribe me with chocolate to make sure I’d put in a good word for him.”

Buck stays silent for a moment, unsure he’s heard Hen right.

“I love you, Hen, but I don’t believe you. The guy always snorts when I talk. He questions every single decision I make in the OR, and I’m pretty sure he has a bet in your stupid _How many hearts will Dr McFlirty break this year_ pool.”

Hen shakes her head. “Everyone has a bet placed, Buckaroo, that doesn’t mean anything.”

“That means you’re all more interested in my sex life than my medical skills.” He knows Hen doesn’t mean harm but it’s still humiliating, and he can’t hide the sad face and harsh tone of his voice. 

“That’s because,” a voice interrupts them, coming from the door, making Buck jump and turn around to find Eddie standing there, “your professional skills are unquestionable.”

“Says the man who questions said skills all the freaking time.”

Eddie grins. “Not your skills, your choices. And I don’t question them for the sake of arguing. I either seek to understand your thought process, or try to be sure we’ve considered every option and made the right choices.”

“Oh.”

Hen pats Buck’s shoulder before leaving the room with a knowing smile, leaving the two men alone with their awkwardness.

“So you don’t see me as a reckless idiot who sees his job as a game?”

“Never said that.”

“Hmm, pretty sure you did. After the helicopter incident.”

“You rushed into a crashed helicopter while the engine was still on and the blades were rotating, Buckley. That’s some top-shelf recklessness.”

“Like you wouldn’t do the same? Actually, I bet you did do the same while in the Army.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and Buck knows he made his point.

“Okay, how about continuing this conversation--”

“Argument.”

“-- _conversation_ , over the best coffee in all of LA?”

“Are you trying to woo me with coffee from the cafeteria? Bold move, Doctor Diaz, very bold.”

Eddie smiles as they head outside and it’s like he’s an entirely new person that Buck never knew existed. A person he can’t wait to get to know better. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! For likes and reblogs, you can find it on tumblr [there](https://theladyandthewolves.tumblr.com/post/626096531744980992/a-tale-of-two-doctors).  
> And like always, every kudos, emoji and comment help me keep on writing ♥


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